20,000 gather for anti-govt protests in Rome

PanARMENIAN.Net - Thousands of far-right activists, anti-rail protesters and construction workers rallied in the streets of Rome on Saturday, March 3 in three protests against Prime Minister Mario Monti's government.

"Taxes are going up, petrol is going up, Monti's government is a robber government!," a few thousand far-right activists chanted at one demonstration.

Organisers said around 20,000 people took part in that protest.

The second protest was by campaigners against the construction of a high-speed rail line through the Alps between the northern city of Turin and Lyon in France which has become a focus for social protests.

The protesters later occupied part of a highway around Rome.

Thousands of workers in plastic helmets meanwhile rallied for greater state assistance for the construction sector, which has been plunged by the global economic crisis and a painful recession precipitated by austerity measures.

Official data out this week showed that the unemployment rate reached a monthly record of 9.2 percent in January from 8.9 percent in December, with the rate among young people aged 15 to 24 rising to 31.1 percent.